Star Lynx: Other Origins
by Mr. Hybrid
Summary: The origin story of Team Star Lynx, from their childhood to one fateful mission that led to the team's formation, these are the stories of the Star Lynx team.
1. Chapter 0

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Star Lynx: Other Origins**

* * *

 **Prologue** : Hearts & Bows

* * *

It was recess for most of the school, the kids were outside all over the equipment, and the teachers were either taking a much-needed break from the chaos or else out supervising. The exception was a small, white-furred young Cornerian canine, who was currently hiding at the end a hallway, curled up on the floor and sobbing to herself.

She heard footsteps in the hallway and looked up, thinking one of the teachers had come looking for her. Instead, she saw a young Cornerian lynx about her age. She gave her a big grin and asked, "Would you mind if I sat next to you?"

Fay looked away, "Go away. I don't want to be made fun of."

The lynx frowned, "I won't tease you. Who was it that was?"

Fay sniffed, "Everyone was making fun of me in class today when I said I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up… and they said my bow was ugly."

The lynx took a seat next to her, "I don't think your bow is ugly. I think it's pretty!" Fay tried her best to look angry as the lynx held out her hand, "My name's Miyu, what's your name?"

Fay found that she couldn't be mad and shook her hand, "My name's Fay..."

Miyu smiled, "That's awesome! Do you wanna be friends?"

Fay found herself grinning at Miyu's enthusiasm and replied, "Yes, I do."

* * *

After school ended, Miyu had decided to go with Fay to the bus-stop, and Fay seemed much more cheerful with her around. While waiting at the bus-stop, Miyu decided to ask, "Do you live around here as well?"

Fay shook her head, "I live in the city. Do you live in the city as well?"

Miyu shook her head, "I live in the suburbs near here." Miyu seemed to be saddened all of the sudden, "Will you be here tomorrow?"

Fay nodded, "Yeah, I'll be here tomorrow."

Miyu smiled, "I can't wait for tomorrow! We can play together tomorrow!"

* * *

Miyu was practically skipping on her way home, she was just so happy. When she arrived home, her mother was the first to greet her, "Heyya kiddo, how was your first day at school?"

Miyu wrapped her arms around her mother in a big hug, "I made a new friend today, mommy! She lives in the city and goes to school out here too!"

Her mother grinned, a soft gentle grin that made Miyu swell with pride, "Already making friends in high places, I see?" When her mother opened her eyes, she saw Miyu's confused look and decided to scoop her up into her arms, "Don't worry about it, sweetie. I'm glad to hear you had a good first day today. Now, be a good girl and go get changed. Mommy's got a date tonight and you will be going to bed on time tonight, okay?"

Miyu pouted a bit, but gave in, "Okay."

* * *

Fay was a bit sad to see Miyu getting off of the bus, but resigned to waiting for her stop. After that, it was a quick walk to the apartment that her family lived in. They chose to live in one of the luxury suites when they had to move in order for her to go to school. She didn't entirely understand why, but they had said that they'd have a new house pretty soon. She had taken their word for it and had accepted living in the apartment for the time being.

When she walked in, her parents were sitting on the couch, watching the HV. Her father turned to look at her and waved, "Welcome back, Fay." Her mother chose to get up and give her a hug instead.

Her mother decided to ask, "How was your first day at school today? Are they treating you well?"

Fay was about to mention the bullies when she thought of Miyu. She thought about what would happen if she told them. They'd probably move again and she wouldn't get the chance to hang out with Miyu again. She simply smiled and answered, "I made a new friend today!"

Her mother was excited, "Aw, that's so sweet! Gordon, honey, Fay made a new friend today!"

Her father seemed less interested, "That's nice, Jessica. I am trying to watch the HV right now."

Jessica frowned, then turned to Fay, "You can tell us about your new friend in a little bit, alright? Your father and I might need to have a talk."

Fay opened her mouth to protest, but Jessica had already turned her back to her and was returning to her seat on the couch.

Gordon broke the silence first, "Did you hear about this? Phoenix Interstellar is buying out our assembly line in Cornelius City..." He glanced toward her, "Do you think we should sell the company? At this rate, I don't think Flyte-for-Lite is gonna last much longer."

Jessica shook her head, "We should negotiate with Phoenix Interstellar first. We can probably make a deal with them to be their supplier. They pay us and in exchange they can use our facilities as needed for their fleet and all that."

Gordon smiled, "I take it you can get in touch with the CEO?"

Fay decided that this was beyond her and decided to just head on up to her room when her father called for her, "Fay, be sure to take a shower and dress nicely. We're going to a party and we'd like you to come with."

Fay sighed, "Yes, daddy."

* * *

The next day, Miyu was waiting out front after her mother had dropped her off when she noticed Fay walking over from the bus-stop. Her eyes widened, she smiled and waved at Fay. Fay gave a half-grin and waved back, walking over to her. Miyu was excited to see her again, "I'm so happy you're back today!" She wrapped her arms around Fay and exclaimed, "We're gonna be best friends!"

They were interrupted by the snickering of a small group of older kids nearby. The one in front, a canine Lylatian, noticed them looking at the group and commented, "What're you gonna do, stripes? Make friendship bracelets with the bookworm all day?"

Miyu's brow furrowed as one of the other two canines shouted, "You should wear matching bows, that way you can both look as stupid as you are!"

Fay felt tears welling up, but was surprised when Miyu walked away from her. She at first thought that Miyu was leaving her, until she saw the lynx walking up to the canine that fancied himself the leader of the group. He sneered, "What the problem? You think you can take me on? You're a girl, I'll bet you hit like one too!"

He hadn't quite expected the kick right in between the legs that followed. The other two were speechless as the bully doubled over, groaning. Miyu turned back to Fay and walked back over to her, "Come on, let's go somewhere away from these jerks."

Fay was surprised by Miyu, and couldn't help following her. She finally found the courage to speak, "That was awesome, Miyu!" Miyu turned to her and grinned, but before either of them could say another word, their names were called by one of the teachers.

* * *

"Alright, the way I understand it, those kids were teasing you and Miyu, and then Miyu kicked one of them in the waist, right?" The principle's stern gaze made it very clear that they were in trouble. Although, Fay wasn't entirely sure why she was in trouble, she hadn't done anything wrong. The principle sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I will talk to those kids about bullying, but Miyu, you can't go hurting people like that, no matter what they may say to you. Now, if you'll be so kind, please wait outside so I can talk to Fay for a moment."

After Miyu left, Fay turned to face the Principle. He got straight to the point, "Fay Spaniel… Daughter of Gordon and Jessica Spaniel, the co-owners of Flyte-for-Lite Industries… You've got quite a bright future to look forward to and we're honored that you wanted to come to this institution for your education… But I need to know why you want to hang out with a troublemaker like her when you've got so much ahead of you."

Fay was surprised, "But- But, Miyu's not a troublemaker, she's my friend! They were picking on me and she said that she wanted to be my friend instead of teasing me!"

The Principle's stern gaze silenced her, "Kids like her grow up to become criminals. Do you really think she wants to be your friend just because she thinks you're worth it? She's using you. My advice, don't hang out with people like her. Now, I'll let you off easy this time, but next time, I will be giving your parents a phone-call. Now, go back to your classes."

Fay frowned, but glared at the Principle and in an impulse decision, declared, "I don't care what you say about Miyu, she's my friend and I'm not going to stop being her friend!"

The Principle's brow furrowed, "You're pushing your luck, Spaniel. Go back to your class before I change my mind about letting you off this time."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ I'm going to write this as a sort of prequel for the "Others" miniseries. There are several fanfics out there that focus on the childhood stories of the main characters, but I've decided to focus on the childhood of the crew of Star Lynx. The story is going have to a relatively linear progression of events, but it'll be more like a series of one-shots focused around various moments of their lives. Mostly, it'll be focused around Miyu and Fay, but Fara and Saru will make their own appearances in time.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 1** : The Neighborhood

* * *

( _Elementary Years..._ )

During her walk home, Miyu couldn't help but rub her cheek a bit. It still stung from when she'd been punched in the face earlier that day. The way she looked at it, though, that jerk had it coming when he tried to push Fay over. They both had been sent to the office, but not before getting a few hits in first. Rather than dealing with her, the Principle simply sent both her and the jerk home early, saying they were suspended until next week. Fay had been sad to see her leave, but she settled down a bit when Miyu said that she'd be back within a week.

As Miyu arrived at her house, she was startled to see a canine running out in little more than his underpants, before turning around just in time to have a pair of pants hit him in the face. The canine turned and ran without even acknowledging Miyu as her mother, wearing nothing at all, appeared in the doorway, fuming and clutching his shirt in her hands. She threw the shirt at the canine and growled, "And stay away from here, you insensitive jackass!"

She saw Miyu and her anger disappeared, replaced with a bit of embarassment, "Oh dear, you're home early today, aren't you?" She covered herself and chuckled, "Why don't you go hang out in the living room while mommy puts on something real quick?"

Miyu had settled down on the couch when her mother appeared, with a bathrobe on to cover herself. She took a note of Miyu's tussled fur and commented, "Got into another fight, did you?"

Miyu shrugged, "He had it coming. He said that canines and felines shouldn't be friends like Fay and I are."

Her mother tenderly put a cold, wet washcloth to her face, "Now, Miyu, what have I said about getting into fights at school?"

Miyu looked away, ashamed, before commenting, "I don't have any cuts on my ears, though..."

Her mother chuckled, "Yes, that's true. But, that's not what I had said. I believe I said that, 'You only fight if you think you can win.'"

Miyu flinched at the cold washcloth, "He made Fay sad, I hate seeing Fay sad, so I punched him anyways."

Her mother gave Miyu a cynical look, "With your claws out?" She shook her head before pulling Miyu into a hug, "I just don't want you to get hurt, Miyu." They were silent for a few minutes before her mother chuckled, "But, I'm proud of you for standing up for your friend. Fay, that's your canine friend, right?"

Miyu nodded and her mother let her go, "But, you're still grounded from HV and video-games for the rest of the week."

It took some time, but after her mother had finished cleaning Miyu up a bit, Miyu finally decided to ask, "Mommy, why do so many strangers come visit you at night?"

Her mother froze, a cup of freshly made tea in her hands. She sighed, then turned to Miyu, "It's mommy's other job, sweetie. You know how I deliver parts for that skycar garage for the morning? Well, in the evenings, I get paid to..." She paused, trying to think of a way to explain her line of work, "I keep men and women company for the night."

Miyu's eyebrows raised in curiosity, "Do they enjoy your company?"

Her mother sat down next to her, "Some of them do. Some of them, they may do something that makes mommy unhappy, so she kicks them out."

Miyu decided to ask, "Did daddy enjoy your company too?"

Her mother had to bite back a brief gasp and looked away for a minute. Miyu soon noticed the tears in her eyes and asked, "Did he make you unhappy?"

Her mother turned to look at her, giving her a fake grin, "He made me very happy. But some things came up and after you were born, he had some problems and he couldn't stay with us. So, mommy had to pick up a second job to support the two of us."

Miyu couldn't say she ever remembered her father, but felt worried enough to ask, "Did I make daddy unhappy? ...Do I make you unhappy?"

Her mother pulled Miyu into a tighter hug after setting her tea down. Miyu was surprised by this as her mother commented, "You made both of us very happy. And you still make me very happy! Don't you ever think that I'd rather kick you out!"

Miyu buried her face in her mother's bathrobe and the two of them sat in silence for a few long minutes before her mother looked down at her and said, "How about we go down to grab some ice cream and forget about all this for the time being?"

* * *

Fay soon found herself staring up at the clock, tapping her pencil lightly on the desk. It had been a couple days and today was the last day of the school week. She was hoping that she might see Fay later today after school got out. Once the bell rang, she packed up her supplies and started to head out the door. On her way to the bus-stop, she was surprised to see someone wave at her there that wasn't Miyu. It took her some time to recognize the vulpine, but she soon remembered her from one of the few parties that her parents brought her along to. The vulpine smiled, "Hey, remember me?"

Fay shook her head, "Sorry, but… no."

The vulpine didn't seem offended by it, "It's no problem. We only spoke a couple times at the party. I'm Fara Phoenix, and you are?"

Fay shook the vulpine's outstretched hand, "Fay Spaniel."

Fara gave her a pat on the back, "It's nice to meet you, Fay."

On the bus, Fara talked a bit with Fay about why she was here, "My parents wanted me to go to a more traditional school, saying that home-schooling only works with experience, and they couldn't find the time to find a tutor or do it themselves. So, they decided to send me here, since this was the best school they could find that was close by. So, how about you? How did you end up going to this school?"

Fay decided to explain it as she understood it, "Someone suggested this school to my parents, so they moved closer to send me here."

Once they reached her stop, Fara waved to Fay, "It was nice to meet you, Fay!"

Fay waved back as the bus drove off and felt a bit better about herself, hoping that she might run into Fara again, and possibly introduce her to Miyu when she got the chance.

* * *

Once she arrived home, Fay soon overheard her parents talking in hushed tones, and in a moment of curiosity, decided to listen in.

"...Honey, this is a good thing. They're offering us a much better position than what we've currently got now."

"Look, Jessica, I don't like this guy. He's a young upstart with no prior experience in the field and he's trying to buy out the company? That sounds to me like he's just taking the easy way up to the top. I don't think we should sell to him."

"Gordon, this man is the son of William Sorenson, the CEO of Fli-Tek Incorporated. And he's not buying the company, he's proposing a merger. He benefits, and we benefit as well. It's a great deal and I do think we should meet with him about it. We're both in the same market, he's got the resources and we've got the workforce. And think about it, he's not asking us to step down from our positions either, so we still get our say in what happens with the company."

Gordon rubbed his forehead, "I don't know. It still seems fishy to me." Both of them soon noticed that Fay was leaning into the doorway. He decided to address Fay, "It's alright, sweetie. Nothing bad's gonna happen with us."

Jessica noticed Fay standing in the doorway and added, "Your father and I are simply discussing what to do with our company. We're in a good place to make more money, which means we can hire a personal tutor for you if you want."

Fay thought about it for a moment, "I… don't think I really want a personal teacher. I don't want to lose my friends at school."

Jessica responded with a warm smile, "If you feel like that's best, then we'll go with that. Maybe you should bring some of those friends over to visit one of these days. I'm sure they'd have lots of fun here."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ A bit of background on Miyu's childhood. Her mother, Sakura Yamaneko, worked a part-time office job as a file clerk before she was born, but after having Miyu Yamaneko, her parents ended up having to split due to Miyu's father being caught up in debt and making the decision to join the Cornerian military, but eventually ended up disappearing from society with a single note to Sakura not to worry about him anymore. Thus, Sakura ended up picking up a second job to help with finances and having enough money for herself and her daughter.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 2** : Reciprocate

* * *

( _Junior High Years…_ )

"Hey, Mom?" Sakura glanced at Miyu. Miyu was standing at the edge of the kitchen, looking shifty like she had done something wrong.

"Yes, Miyu? What's up?"

Miyu blushed and averted her gaze a bit, "Uh… Um… What, uh… How do you feel about… relationships?"

Sakura gave her a warm smile, "If you love someone, you should be willing to fight for them." She paused, "Can I ask what brought this up?" She had her suspicions, but she kept them to herself.

Miyu decided to take a seat at the kitchen table, "Well… We are supposed to start health-class this week, and one of the subjects is… Well..."

Sakura went on ahead and asked, "Sex Education? Don't worry about it, everyone gets embarrassed about it. Lemme let you in on something. Sex isn't a bad thing, it's just natural. And a relationship doesn't have to be built around sex. In-fact, if you're in a relationship like that, I strongly advise you to be careful, because those rarely work out."

Miyu blushed even harder, "But… I've always heard that relationships are supposed to..." She wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

Sakura sighed, "Sweetie, if you love someone of the same sex or someone other than a feline like yourself, it's still love. Remember what I just said? If you truly love someone, you'll fight for them."

She placed a cup of tea in front of Miyu, "In my line of work, I can't exactly afford to be picky if you wanna live comfortably." She took a seat in front of Miyu, "So… who's the one to catch your eye?"

Miyu turned beet-red and sputtered, "It's not that I- I don't actually have a- Well, it's just that- !" She buried her face in her hands and Sakura couldn't help laughing a bit.

She placed a hand on Miyu's arm, "Sweetie, it's okay. You're going through puberty, it's normal to be confused. You'll figure out what you want in a relationship before long."

Miyu finally nerved up enough to look her mother in the eyes and nodded, "If you're sure..."

Sakura stood up and resumed preparing lunch, "Trust me, I've lived through it. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about."

* * *

Fay had finally nerved up and spoken to her father about something that was bothering her, "Hey, Dad? What exactly is it like to be in a relationship?"

Gordon scooted out from under the skycar, black stains on his fur, and sat up, "Well… If you like someone enough, you have to nerve up and talk to them. The worst they can say is 'no.'" He grinned, "You know, I was in a position much like yours back in high-school. There was a pretty young woman that I liked, so I found the back-bone to ask her if she wanted to go out on a date with me."

Fay was curious, "What happened after you asked her?"

Gordon chuckled, "Well, that's how I met your mother." He smiled at her, "I'm sure you'll meet a nice young canine gentleman that you can settle with if you start looking now."

Fay wasn't sure what that meant, so she asked, "Well… What if I met someone who wasn't..."

Gordon's expression changed in an instant, "Don't be ridiculous, Fay. Those aren't healthy relationships and they never last. It's the Spaniel Destiny for men to become great businessmen and for women to marry other powerful men and continue our legacy by bringing them into the bloodline." He stood up and stared her down, "Do not ever think about those homo splicers as being a good example of a relationship. You're better than that. Don't forget that."

Fay felt pale all of the sudden. She pursed her lips for a moment, "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I just had a question to ask about it."

Gordon sighed, "Look, just- Go talk to your mother about it. I'm not in the mood right now. I need to fix the brakes on this thing, or else we won't be going anywhere this weekend."

Fay took the hint and left the garage. She figured that it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask her mother, although she found herself a bit wary after the discussion with her father. When she ran into her mother, she decided to start by asking her, "Hey, mom? Can I as you a kinda personal question?"

Jessica grinned at her, "Of course, Fay. What's on your mind?"

Fay thought about how to go about asking her, "...What was your last name before you got married to dad?"

Jessica frowned, "Why do you want to know?"

Fay tried to think of an answer, but couldn't come up with one that she thought would satisfy her, so she shrugged. Jessica folded the newspaper she was reading and only replied, "My maiden name isn't as important as the name you have. I want you to remember that. Whoever you get married to, remember, you hyphenate your name before his or else he better take the Spaniel name. That's how we continue our legacy as a powerful family."

Fay's eyes widened and Jessica simply returned to reading her newspaper, save for a glare at Fay suggesting that she find something else to do other than bothering her.

* * *

It had been a couple days since they had started health-class, and as the days had gone by, Fay found herself blushing every time she looked at Miyu, who seemed to be avoiding her for whatever reason. When lunch-time rolled around, she decided to take a seat next to one of her classmates. The blue-feathered pheasant was leaning back and staring at the lunchroom ceiling, save for a brief glance in her direction when she sat down next to him, "Somethin' botherin' ya, puppy?"

Fay glared at him in disgust at his nickname for her, but her glare softened, "Well… Can I ask you something kinda personal?"

Falco sneered, "I ain't interested."

She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, so she decided to ask anyway, "If you have someone you've got a crush on, how do you tell them without it being awkward?"

Falco's sneer disappeared and he leaned forward, thinking about how to answer that. Fay felt like she had been too forward in asking and was about to apologize when he started, "Well… For starters, I ain't the best person to be askin' questions like that to. I ain't exactly lookin' for a relationship right now, no matter what Katthrin may say. But, the best advice I can offer ya is this: Don't be a stranger. Just tell 'em straight up how ya feel, and if they say no, then ya can forget about 'em."

Fay mulled his advice over in her head for a bit, then thanked him, "I really appreciate it, and I hope you get things straightened out with Katthrin soon."

Falco shot a death-glare at her, "Don't be startin' on that now. We're just friends."

* * *

Some time after school, Fay finally nerved up, thinking to herself, _I am going to ask her, one way or another_. She waited outside for Miyu to come out, and when she saw the lynx, she blushed, but waved over to her. Miyu, when she saw her, blushed, but walked over to her. Fay tried to think straight, but when Miyu walked over to her and gave her a nervous grin, she hesitated for a moment, before asking, "Can we… go somewhere private for a bit…?"

They moved to somewhere out of sight around the side of the school building, and Miyu, after looking around, asked Fay, "What's up, Fay?" Miyu wanted to ask her why she had seemed so distant in the past couple days, but Miyu soon found herself staring into Fay's eyes.

Fay blushed and all confidence she had promptly went down the drain. Fay bit her lip and averted her gaze for a moment, ashamed of herself. Miyu was about to ask her what was wrong when she decided, _Now or never_. She leaned forward and planted her lips right on Miyu's. Miyu was surprised for a moment, but wrapped her arms around Fay and closed her eyes, letting her arms wrap around Fay and pull her closer.

They slowly pulled away from each other and after a moment, released each other, before turning away from each other. Fay thought about what she had just done for a moment, wondering if she made the right decision. She started going through all sorts of worst-case scenarios in her head and felt a bit frantic when Miyu finally broke the silence between them, "Fay."

 _Oh Lyla, here it comes…_ She thought and winced for a moment, before turning to face Miyu.

Miyu paused for a moment before speaking, "I… That was…" She looked at the ground for a moment, before looking back at her, "How long have you been waiting to tell me how you felt?"

Fay hesitated before admitting, "I've… felt this way for a few months now… I just wasn't sure how to tell you before now..."

She expected Miyu to be mad at her, but was surprised when she grinned at her instead, "Oh Fay… I was kinda hoping to tell you eventually. I've had some feelings for you for a while now too." She took Fay's hand in hers and gave her a gentle grin, "Perhaps we could… do this again… eventually?"

Fay blushed and grinned, nodding, "I'd like that..."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 3** : Taking Sides (Part 1)

* * *

( _High school years…_ )

As Fay walked into the hallway, she spied a familiar lynx in the crowd and blushed. Miyu really knew how to make casual look good. Although, part of it may have just been that she was finally noticing the athletic form that Miyu had grown into. She couldn't help but be a bit excited when she saw her. Today was their last day of high school, which meant freedom for many of the students there. And for Fay, she figured that meant freedom from her parents. She walked up to Miyu and greeted her, "Hey, you have any plans for the weekend?"

Miyu glanced at her and shook her head, "I'm free this weekend." She grinned, "You got somewhere special you want to go?"

Fay bit her lip, "I was actually wondering if I could come over to your place this weekend. I would kinda like to hang out with you this weekend if that's alright."

Miyu nodded, "I'll talk to Mom about it, but I think she'll be alright with that. How about you? Need to make arrangements with your parents?"

Fay shook her head, "They'd already said that if I had somewhere I wanted to go, that I'm welcome to as long as I just give them a time or date for when I'll be back. I told them I'd be at your place for the weekend and they said fine."

Fay yipped when she felt someone grabbing her from behind, followed by someone laughing, then commenting, "Say, Fay. Why don't you come hang out with us guys for the weekend instead? We could sure use a pretty face like yours around the place."

Fay glared at the offending vulpine, "Not a chance, Justin. Why don't you go find someone else's pants to get into?"

Justin sneered, "Aw come on, sweet stuff. All the girls want a piece of this, but I'm only interested in you. So, whaddya say?"

Fay glanced behind him as a familiar voice replied, "This lady has already said she ain't goin' with ya, Justin. If ya didn't keep yer head shoved so far up yer ass, you'd have figured that out by now."

Justin flinched and turned around to come face-to-face with Falco. He faked his confidence and turned his chin up to Falco, "Why don't you keep your opinions to yourself and let the lady tell me what she wants?"

Falco flashed a dark grin at Justin, before kneeing him in the stomach. Justin recoiled, but elected not to retaliate physically, "Alright. I see how it is." He turned to walk away.

Falco nudged Fay with his elbow, "Don't judge 'im too hard. He's a jerkass, but he's got a heart o' gold under all that jerkassery. Trust me, I've seen it."

Fay gave him a lop-sided stare, before turning to Miyu, who spoke to Falco, "I appreciate it. All things considered, I probably would've sucker-punched him myself if you hadn't."

Falco scratched the back of his head, "Just a quick little favor for two good friends." He glanced towards Fox, Fara, and Slippy, "I gotta get goin' though. See ya around, alright?"

Miyu waved back at him, "Don't be a stranger."

* * *

On their way out from the school, Miyu managed to catch up with Fay, "Hey, before you do come over, though, I'll need to check with my mom first about having you come over first, and seeing if she's got anything going that might change our plans." Fay gave an understanding nod and Miyu gave her a thumbs-up, "I'll let you know what she says, alright?"

After they departed, Miyu felt her heart skip a beat in excitement as she made her way back home. When she arrived home and finally got back inside, her mother greeted her once she had finally taken a seat on the couch, "So… how's my little high-school graduate?"

Miyu took a deep breath, "Ready to relax for a few months, relieved that I finished it finally." She leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment, before meeting Sakura's gaze, "Hey, Mom, I do actually have a question, though. Do we have anything planned this weekend?"

Sakura shook her head, "I got the next couple weeks off. Why's that?"

"I was actually hoping I could bring a friend over for the weekend. If that's alright with you."

Sakura was interested, "A friend? Sure. On one condition, though." Miyu looked a bit concerned for a moment, but her worries were quickly proven unfounded as Sakura continued, "I get to meet this friend of yours."

* * *

At the dinner table, Fay was left a bit bothered by the silence from her parents. A small ring prompted her to check her cell-phone, showing that she got a message from Miyu. She gave it a quick look and grinned before Jessica commented, "No cell-phones at the dinner table, Fay."

She put it away, "Sorry, that was just a friend of mine. I'll be going over to their place tomorrow morning and I'll probably be staying for the weekend at their place."

Jessica seemed interested, "A friend you say?"

Fay sighed, "It's not like that. We're just friends, Mom." She hated lying about her relationship with Miyu, but those words her father had for this kind of relationship so many years ago still stuck with her. She had no doubt what kind of reaction her parents would have if they found out, but she was willing to take the risks to keep it a secret.

Jessica grinned, "Well, perhaps you'd like to bring your friend over to meet us one of these days?"

Fay paused, uncertain about that. So many questions started popping up in her mind right off the bat. She had no idea how to even go about bringing the idea up to Miyu, let alone doing so in a way that she'd be willing to go with. She realized that her parents were staring at her and in a split-second decision, replied, "I'll talk to my friend about it."

That seemed to satisfy Jessica, who returned her focus to her meal. Gordon resumed reading the newspaper, before mentioning to Jessica, "They're gonna open that assembly line after all, Jessica." He glanced at her, "You realize what this means, right?"

Jessica returned the glance, "We'll have to hire more workers. You thinking that we do an open-hiring event?"

Gordon nodded, "Fay's going to be at a friend's house for the weekend. We'll have plenty of time to host the first one during that time."

Fay pursed her lips, then stood up from the table, "I'm finished with my meal, may I be excused?"

Gordon waved her off, "Just be sure to take care of your dishes."

* * *

The next morning, Fay had made it a personal goal to try and get out of the apartment before her parents woke up, leaving a note on the table to let them know she was out. Once she had left the apartment, she found her way over to one of the nature parks and sent Miyu a quick message about where to meet her, taking a seat on one of the benches to wait.

She soon heard a horn and glanced behind her to see a Brosnan Night Fire skycar open it's door followed by Miyu waving at her. Fay walked over to the skcyar and got into the passenger seat. She glanced over at Miyu and flashed a soft grin at her, "Hi, Miyu!"

Miyu returned the smile, "Heyya, Fay." After making sure Fay was buckled in, Miyu drove off toward her house. Along the way, she commented to Fay, "Be prepared, my mom said that the only condition for you coming over was that she gets to meet you."

Fay's eyes widened, "Should I be nervous?"

Miyu thought about it for a moment, "...I wouldn't be. She's pretty easy-going and open-minded. But… she doesn't actually know about… well… _us_ , yet. I was kinda planning to break it to her slowly."

Fay stared ahead at the road, "You're nervous that she's not as open as she says she is, is that it?"

Miyu nodded, "I guess I am a bit nervous. Although, I do suppose it may be a bit ridiculous."

* * *

Once they had arrived at Miyu's house, Fay finally got to take in the appearance of the neighborhood, "You have an actual house?"

Miyu was a bit surprised, "You don't? I thought your family was, like, rich or something like that. Aren't they?"

Fay nodded, "But they prefer to live in a luxury apartment instead of an actual house, they said it's more convenient for where I went to school for them to just rent the luxury suite of an apartment than it was to buy a house in the city."

For the first time, Miyu felt like she actually got to know a bit more about Fay's family life. She wondered if Fay secretly desired the simpler life instead of what she had been given. Fay turned to Miyu and asked, "Well? Shall we go on in?"

Miyu nodded and got out of the skycar, walking around to Fay's side and opening the door for her. As Fay got out, she glanced at Miyu, then at the door, "Uh… Well, no sense in wasting any time. Let's get going, huh?"

Sakura glanced up from her cell-phone when Miyu walked through the door and waved, "Hi, Miyu." She saw the canine following behind her and raised an eyebrow.

Fay closed the door behind them and Miyu got the introductions out of the way, "Mom, this is my friend, Fay Spaniel. Fay, this is my Mom."

Fay held out her hand and Sakura, after a moment, shook it, "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Yamaneko."

Sakura smiled, "That's very formal of you, but you can just call me Sakura." She stood up and looked Fay over a couple times, "Now, let's see… Spaniel… That's a powerful family name, isn't it?"

Fay grimaced, "Well… yeah, kinda. We're… well… I guess we're a wealthy family, but I don't know about powerful. I don't think we count as influential."

Sakura patted her on the back, "Aristocratic, then. Oh well, I'm humbled that you wanted to come visit us."

Miyu finally spoke up, "Actually, Fay and I have been friends since we were little. I actually can't really remember not being her friend."

Sakura glanced at Miyu for a moment, then her eyes widened as she recalled, "Oh yes! I remember now! So, you're the canine that my little Miyu kept babbling about when she was younger! Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Miyu blushed in embarrassment as Sakura gestured toward the couch, "Please, take a seat, I'll go prepare some drinks."

Miyu sat down next to Fay on the couch as Sakura disappeared into the kitchen, before briefly calling out, "What drinks do you prefer, Fay?"

Fay glanced at Miyu, then called back, "I'll just have water, thank you." She then turned her attention back to Miyu and commented with a cheerful, "She's nice."

Miyu grinned, "She's got a big heart. I imagine that by the end of the weekend, she'll be treating you like she's known you her whole life."

Sakura called out from the kitchen, "I almost have, with how much Miyu talked about the things you two did back then!"

Fay giggled, "I was a popular topic for you when we were little, huh?"

Miyu blushed and pulled her knees up to her chest, burying her face in her arms in mock-pout, "I'm being attacked."

Fay gave her a playful punch in the arm, "Oh come on, if it were my parents, we wouldn't be having this much fun already."

Miyu looked up and turned to Fay, "How so?"

Fay shook her head, "We're here to do stuff at your place. I'm not really in the mood to talk about my parents."

Miyu sensed the slight edge in her tone and dropped the subject, thinking of something else to talk about, "So… what do you wanna do?"

Fay glanced over at the kitchen, then lowered her voice, "Well… first thing I wanna do is get some alone time with you and-" She burst into giggles as Miyu practically turned beet-red. She shook her head, "I'm actually content to just sit here, enjoying the relative quiet right now."

Miyu grinned, even though secretly, she kinda some time alone with Fay as well. They'd had their moments together, mostly keeping everything under the radar wherever possible, though. Their thoughts were interrupted by Sakura coming back to the living room with drinks. She set both down on the coffee table in front of the couch, before taking a seat on the recliner on one side of them, "So, Fay, tell me a bit about yourself. You graduated this year as well?"

Fay nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Now… Uh… I'm not sure there is much that I can say that I'm sure Miyu hasn't said already. We talk a lot when we have the time to hang out, and we try to hang out a lot." She paused, "Well, I mean, you already know about my family, so I guess there's not much to say."

Sakura shrugged, "Very well… How about some old films? I rented a couple classic horror films if you're interested."

Fay nodded, "Sure. I'm up for that. How about you, Miyu?"

Miyu nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright with that."

Sakura nodded, "And after that, we can discuss lunch-plans."

* * *

Sakura had insisted on ordering food for the trio, saying that she didn't want to go out to eat and she didn't feel like cooking. Neither Miyu nor Fay could argue with that logic as they both felt kinda the same. Of course, during the time that it took for their food to get there, Miyu had dozed off and was now awkwardly leaning on Fay's shoulder as an impromptu pillow.

Sakura had her suspicions, but she kept them to herself as she brought the pizza in once it had arrived. Fay grinned and took a slice when she set it on the coffee table in front of them. Miyu groaned and sat upright when she finally caught the scent of food, "Mmm… what time is it?"

Sakura glanced in her direction, "Quarter past noon. You planning to sleep all day?"

Miyu shook her head, "No, just got a bit burnt out after three vampire-flicks in a row."

Sakura sneered, "You're sure you aren't just burnt out from school?"

Miyu rolled her eyes, "Yes Mom, I'm sure."

* * *

When the evening arrived, they had moved from horror films to comedy and even to romance. Miyu admittedly didn't care much for most romantic films, having grown up with the impression that no sane person says that kind of stuff in real life, but she was intrigued by how Fay seemed lost in them, as if she were seeing them for the first time and wishing that someone would do that for her.

Miyu blushed slightly, wondering if she wanted Fay to say various romantic one-liners for her, or if it was the passionate kissing that she wanted. The mere thought made her blush even harder. Sakura soon stood up, "Well, I'm planning on making a stir-fry for dinner. You kids hungry?"

Fay looked up like she'd been snapped out of a trance, before giving Sakura a grin and nodded, "I'm feeling a bit hungry."

Sakura glanced at Miyu, who nodded and replied with, "Yeah, ditto."

The house was soon filled with a delicious aroma as Sakura began putting together the food for the trio. Miyu and Fay had settled for watching the rest of the film they were watching until Sakura had called them over to the dinner table, citing that their food was ready.

They ate their meal mostly in silence until Sakura decided to strike up some conversation, "So… Fay. You and Miyu have known each other since you two were little, right?" Fay nodded and Sakura continued, "Well… if I may, how close are you as friends?"

Fay blushed and glanced at Miyu, who paused mid-bite and had to pause for a moment. They glanced at each other, then Miyu chuckled, "Well, uh… We're best friends, of course."

Sakura nodded with a sly grin, clearly not believing a word, "Mm-hmm." She seemed to let the subject go for the moment, finishing her meal and getting up to take care of her dishes. As she did, Miyu glanced at Fay, blushing and embarrassed.

Fay looked a bit irritated and in a low voice, asked her, "You said that she wouldn't mind if we were together. Why didn't you tell her?"

Miyu stuttered, trying to keep her voice down, "I- Well- I- I'm just nervous- I-" She sighed and stared down at her bowl, "...I just don't know how to tell her about… well, 'us.'"

Both of them paled when they heard Sakura's voice from the kitchen, "Well, for starters..." She leaned back into the dining room, still grinning, "You could just say it." Sakura, having taken care of her empty bowl, returned to the dining room and swept Miyu up in a big hug, "Miyu, I'm so proud of you!"

Fay's eyes widened as she stumbled over her words, "But- How did you- What-?"

Sakura glanced at her and winked, "I'm a mother. Trust me, I know."

She let go of Miyu and placed both hands on her shoulders, "I'm glad you've found someone you truly love, Miyu. To be perfectly honest, I was starting to get a bit curious when I saw that you never seemed to show interest in anyone, other than Fay, of-course."

She turned to Fay and shook her hand, "It's nice to actually meet you, Miss Spaniel."

Fay turned red as she broke eye contact, "You could just call me Fay, ma'am." She glanced up at her, "...Is this the part where you give me that 'If I hurt your daughter' speech?"

Sakura shook her head, still smiling, "Darling, if I thought you wanted to hurt my little blossom, we wouldn't be talking right now." She flashed a momentary death-glare, "I'm a mother. Trust me, I know."

Fay's eyes widened as Sakura turned back to Miyu, "Well, seeing as the secret's out now, this changes things a bit. Miyu, lemme know if you and Fay want to go anywhere tomorrow. I promise, I can provide transportation, but I won't be in your way if you two want some time with each other."

* * *

Miyu finally gave up and yawned, stretching a bit before glancing toward Fay, "Hey, it's getting kinda late… You wanna turn in?"

Fay nodded, eyelids drooping a bit, "Yeah… sure..."

A few minutes later, they had their teeth brushed, pajamas on, and were currently taking a look at sleeping arrangements in Miyu's room. Fay thought about it for a moment before making a tired suggestion, "We could just sleep together."

Miyu shook herself awake long to answer, not really thinking about it, "Yeah… sounds like a great idea..."

About an hour later, Sakura passed by their room and noticed that the door was open and went to close it, but not before taking a quick peek to check on the two. Both were fast asleep on Miyu's bed, with Miyu's arms wrapped around Fay's midriff, Fay's tail lazily draped over Miyu's waist. A gentle smile etched itself onto Sakura's face when she saw it. The scene looked adorable to her, especially when she saw the corner of Fay's mouth curve upward as she seemed to settle into Miyu's grasp.

* * *

"Well, it was nice of you to come by, Fay! I hope we see you around here more often!" Fay waved back at Sakura and Miyu as she hopped onto the skytrain back to the city. They'd had plenty of fun over the weekend and Fay had talked with Miyu about having her come over one of these days. Miyu, while hesitant, had been excited when Fay said that they'd have the apartment to themselves whenever she came over. As the skytrain pulled out of the station, Fay glanced back to see Miyu blow a kiss at her and blushed, giving her a thumbs-up before the skytrain reached full-speed and the station disappeared from view.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ A much longer chapter than the previous couple chapters up until this point.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 4** : Taking Sides (Part 2)

* * *

A/N

→ I wanted to provide a warning for this chapter for the portrayal of abuse. This is not, in any way, intended to undermine or make light of people who go through something like this, nor is it intended to represent (or misrepresent) abuse. I have marked the section in question if you wish to skip over it.

* * *

"Dad, I just want to bring a friend over this weekend, isn't that alright?" Fay was a bit frustrated with the conflicting answers she had gotten from her parents. She only mentioned wanting to have a friend over, and while her mother was keen on letting her, her father seemed much more suspicious and adamant about making excuses to not let her.

"Fay, we've never even heard about this friend. How do you know that they aren't trying to get at our valuables in some way?"

Gordon was suddenly stopped when Jessica finally nerved up and slapped him in the face, "Gordon, you're being completely ridiculous now. Our daughter can have friends, and I'm sure that they're nice. Besides, we don't have any plans this weekend, I don't see why she can't-" She paused and recoiled as Gordon raised his hand, ready to backhand her. He stopped, remembering that Fay was in the room, then lowered his arm, his hand curling into a fist.

Gordon looked Jessica in the eyes, a barely concealed rage in his eyes as he simply replied, "Fine. But, don't think I won't say something if this 'friend' steals from us." He turned to Fay, "You bring a friend here, and he better be a well-disciplined, well-behaved young man, got that?" He then turned back to Jessica, "You and I will discuss this later." Jessica's eyes widened as she recognized that tone of voice, but gave a feeble nod in response.

Fay, feeling very much out of her element, excused herself to her room, at which point she began to wonder if bringing Miyu over really was a good idea. She'd begun to notice things about her father recently and she wasn't sure if he had always been like that, or if it only recently started, but he seemed less patient, more prone to anger. While she hadn't seen him hit Jessica or herself, it certainly seemed like he would if given the chance. He definitely had no problem berating her mother in private, when he thought nobody was listening. An idea popped into her head and she hoped that Miyu might be willing to go along with it. She pulled out her cell-phone and began texting.

* * *

"Hey, Mom?" Sakura looked up from the magazines she was reading when Miyu called for her. Miyu stood at the base of the stairway, leaning against the wall, "So… Fay wants me to come to her place this weekend."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "You don't need my permission to go see her, you know."

Miyu shuffled, nervous, "But… see… the thing is..." Miyu tried to think about how to phrase it, "Fay doesn't think her parents are okay with the idea of… us." Miyu gestured to herself and Sakura began to understand as she continued, "She wanted to know if… maybe… you could come along? She just doesn't think that me going by myself is the best idea."

Sakura chuckled, "Fay wants me to keep her parents distracted so they don't notice you two smoochin' in the back-room, huh?" She crossed one leg over the other, "That girl is a lot smarter than she lets on. I think she might do well with that medical degree she mentioned, that is, if she doesn't decide on something else first." She glanced up at Miyu, who was blushing furiously in light of Sakura's bluntness, "Tell her I'll go with you. It'll be nice to meet the rest of the Spaniel family anyways."

* * *

When the weekend arrived, the Spaniel family were currently gathered around the apartment's living room. Gordon was watching the sports channel while Jessica was mostly just keeping an eye on the time, waiting until it was time for her to start cooking. As for Fay, she was keeping an eye on her cell-phone mostly, waiting for Miyu to text her that they were here. She was surprised that Sakura had agreed to come along, but was a bit glad, knowing how Sakura had taken the fact that they were together.

Eventually, her cell-phone rang with a new message and she checked it out, before getting up, "That's my friend. I'll go let her in."

Gordon immediately raised an eyebrow, "'Her?' Didn't you have any male friends you could invite over?"

Fay took a moment to think of an excuse, "They were… all busy this weekend." She began to have doubts about how this night would go, but remained hopeful. She heard a creak and realized that her father had gotten up, likely to see who she was bringing over.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by Miyu, looking a bit nervous herself, and the comforting smile of Sakura, who waved at her, "Hiya, kiddo."

Gordon's voice, though low, was clearly heard when he asked, "She brought a feline over? I'd have expected she'd bring at least a canine friend over."

There was a soft thud as he grunted, followed by Jessica's soft, "Be nice, dear."

She decided to introduce them, "Mom, Dad, this is Miyu, and Ms. Yamaneko."

Sakura smiled and held out a hand, "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Spaniel! You can just call me Sakura."

Gordon shook her hand after a moment, "Indeed." He gestured toward the dining table, "How about you two take a seat? We were just about to start cooking dinner." He glanced at Jessica, who only shrugged, before getting up to prepare the meal.

While seated at the table, Fay couldn't help but glance at Miyu and Sakura. The former seemed a bit nervous as she fidgeted in her seat, while the latter was keeping an eye on Jessica and Gordon. Gordon soon joined them at the table and crossed his arms on the table, leaning forward in his chair, "So… Miyu… Tell me a bit about yourself. How did you come to meet Fay?"

Miyu feigned the best smile she could manage to cover up for the fact that she was a bit nervous, "Well, we met in elementary school and started hanging out… We've stayed in touch ever since then."

Gordon nodded, clearly not satisfied with that answer, "Mm-hmm. And what about yourself? You don't seem like the type to hang out with Fay's kind of crowd." The sound of someone clearing their throat from the kitchen made Gordon pause, before re-phrasing his last statement, "Sorry. I meant to say that you seemed more… adventurous than our daughter."

Miyu paled, before continuing, "Ah, well… she and I have been friends pretty much for as long as I can remember. We just sorta…" She shrugged, "hung out?"

Jessica's voice called out from the kitchen, "Dinner's almost done."

* * *

Nobody said a word at the table during the meal, leaving only an awkward silence until they finished. Miyu excused herself first, heading to the living room. A few minutes later, Fay received a message on her cell-phone, from Miyu. She excused herself, receiving a couple suspicious stares from her parents, as she left. In the living room, she gestured for Miyu to follow her to her room, and as soon as she closed the door, she started off by saying, "I'm so sorry about my parents, Miyu. I tried to convince them to let me bring a friend over and this was the only way they would let me. I didn't think my father would go that far."

Miyu shook her head, "Fay… I'm not mad at you. But I wasn't expecting this when I got here."

Fay sat down, prompting Miyu to take a seat next to her on the floor, "I don't know if my parents have always been like this, or if it just started recently, but they've been arguing a lot more, to the point where they've almost come to blows a few times…" She heard the unmistakable sound of her father and mother questioning Sakura, then continued, "...I'm not entirely certain, but I think my father is frustrated that I'm not saddled up with some rich canine… And he takes it out on my mother… But she seems frustrated that I'm not living up to her expectations with schooling."

Miyu frowned, "Is that why you wanted my mom to come along as well?"

Fay thought about it for a minute, "I wanted at someone I could trust around if I was gonna bring you over. My parents wouldn't let me have some time alone with you. I guess they think we'd start doing things behind closed doors."

Fay felt an arm around her shoulder, followed by Miyu beginning to say, "Fay, I-" They were interrupted by the sound of glass shattering. Panicked, both of them hurried out of her room and back down to the kitchen, where Gordon was standing over the table, a broken cup on the floor.

* * *

|-/-\\-/-\\-|

* * *

He glared at Sakura and snarled at her, "I remember where I've seen you before! You're the whore that ruined the reputation of one of my investors!" Sakura raised her eyebrows as Gordon continued, "It's because of you that he and his wife had a divorce! That bitch ran off with his money, and our business contract as a result!"

He raised his hand to backhand Sakura when Jessica finally grabbed his arm, "Gordon! Please! Just calm down!"

Gordon responded by shoving her away, "Don't you fucking dare talk down to me!" Without a moment's hesitation, he slapped Jessica across the face. Jessica reeled and impulsively raised her arm to shield herself for the next blow. When it never came, she looked to see Gordon turn his attention back to Sakura, "I'll make you pay for destroying my business contract!"

"Dad, stop!" Gordon stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Fay scream at him. He glared at his daughter as she put herself between him and Sakura. She was terrified of what he'd do to her, but when she looked up at him, all the anger in his expression was replaced by confusion. She took in a deep breath, then spoke, "Dad, this is wrong, and you're blowing it completely out of proportion!"

Gordon sputtered, "But- What- Why-?"

She finally nerved up and leveled a glare at him, "If your stupid investor didn't want to lose his reputation, he should've remained loyal to his own family. Sakura had nothing to do with that. It was all his fault."

She would've expected it from her father, but certainly not her mother at this point, "Fay… You would choose a prostitute over your own family?" Fay's eyes winced shut as her hands balled into fists as her mother continued, "Your father is right, dear, even if he's over-reacting." Gordon turned to glare at her as she continued, "If she hadn't gotten involved, he'd still be an asset to the company." She held a hand out, "Fay, come here. I don't want you to be around these kind of people."

Fay finally opened her eyes, tears beginning to well up. She glared at her mother, then to her father, before quietly growling, "Just… shut up."

Anger returned to her father's eyes as he asked in an indignant tone, "What did you just say to me?"

She looked up at him and yelled, "Shut up!" She mentally braced for it as his hand connected with her cheek, throwing her off-balance and sending her falling to the floor.

Gordon growled at her, "I'll deal with you when I'm done with her. No daughter of mine would dare talk back to me." He was caught off-guard when Miyu rushed to Fay's side, wrapping one arm under her and holding her close, placing a hand on her other cheek as Fay rubbed the side of her face where the slap had connected. Miyu turned to Gordon, before pulling Fay closer to her and glaring back at him. Gordon put the pieces together, and it only angered him even further, "You… You're a goddamned splicer, aren't you? And a homosexual?! Fay, you are going to be in a lot of trouble when this is all over."

Fay shook her head as Miyu helped her to her feet, before looking up at her parents and in a low voice, replied, "...Fuck you."

Jessica and Gordon were both taken aback by her swearing at them, before Fay declared, "What kind of father hits his own wife and daughter when they don't agree with him?" She wiped away a couple tears that were threatening to fall, "Parents are supposed to be supportive of their children, not authoritarian. You…" She took a somewhat shaky breath as she felt her own anger welling up alongside her tears, "You're vile. You're no father to me."

Jessica stood up, "Honey, please. Let's just talk this out. We can help yo-"

"You're no better, 'Mom.'" Fay's words stopped her in her tracks, "You hit Dad just as much as he hits you, but when it comes to me, you just see me as somebody you can use to fix your own fuck-ups!" Fay pulled Miyu closer, "I'm my own person, not a body you can push to follow in your own footsteps." Tears were flowing from her eyes and she gritted her teeth, "You're not my mother to me." She glared at both of them, "We may be of the same blood, but both of you are strangers that I don't want interfering with my life."

* * *

|-\\-/-\\-/-|

* * *

She turned to Miyu, "Let's go." Miyu nodded and glanced at Sakura, who finally detached herself from the wall.

Sakura glanced toward Gordon and Jessica, "Thank you for having us over." She paused, before saying, "Don't ever come near us again."

As they turned toward the door, Fay paused when she heard Gordon call out, "Fay, if you walk through that door… You won't be a Spaniel anymore." Fay only responded by flipping him off, then following Miyu out the door, hand-in-hand.

Back in Sakura's skycar, Fay pulled out her cell-phone and began opening up a banking-app. Miyu looked over and asked about it, "What are you doing?"

Fay tapped the holographic screen a few times, "Making sure he doesn't steal from me. I'm setting myself as the primary holder of my account and un-linking my parents' accounts. I've got enough money in there to last until I can get a job, or go for college." After a few minutes, she sighed, "And now that we've taken care of that..." She put her cell-phone away and stared out the window.

The car ride was mostly silent, until Fay finally spoke up, "I'm sorry."

Sakura spared her a glance from the front-seat as Miyu asked, "For what?"

Fay met Miyu's concerned eyes, "I didn't think things would go the way they did. I didn't think he would try to hurt your mother, Miyu. I certainly didn't expect that Mom would take his side either. I'm sorry you both had to experience that."

Sakura's face was neutral, but her response was somewhat comforting, "I wasn't expecting that either. But, I'm glad to see you stand up to them." She paused to take a turn, then added, "I'm very proud of you, Fay. You've got a strong heart and very good morals. I just wish it hadn't involved you getting hurt because of it."

Fay felt a warmth press against her and noticed Miyu curling up next to her, her head resting on Fay's shoulder. Tenderly, she took Miyu's hands in hers and let her head rest against Miyu's. "Those people aren't my family, no matter how related we are." She glanced at Miyu and her face softened, "I..." She wrapped an arm around Miyu and pulled her closer, "I couldn't let him stand there and hurt you or Miyu. I'd rather be disowned than let that happen."

Sakura couldn't help but let a small grin appear. She'd heard of a lot of people who go through abuse throughout their lives and grow up to become abusive themselves, but something about Fay gave her the impression that she was different, that she'd turn out alright. She soon glanced back there and saw the two having fallen asleep in the back seat. _We'll have to get that cheek looked at, make sure that bastard didn't break anything_ , she thought to herself, expecting to press charges if he did.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 5** : Crew

* * *

 _Three years later…_

Fox and Peppy looked up as the door to their office opened up and in walked two Cornerians that Fox recognized. Fay took a seat in front of them, sitting opposite of Fox, while Miyu turned her chair around and sat down, leaning forward on the back of the chair. Fox gave a reassuring grin to the duo, "It's great to see you two again."

Miyu and Fay nodded, prompting Peppy to ask Fox, "You know these two?"

Fox made it brief, "Falco does. I meet them briefly back in high school, and again at the Military Academy." He turned to them and cleared his throat, "Anyway. I assume you're here for more than just a friendly chat, correct?"

Fay explained, "We heard that Star Fox was looking for new members in light of recent events. I called up Falco and he told us to meet with you."

Fox nodded, "Well, we don't just hire anyone for the job. We'd like to know, what do you two believe you can bring to the team?"

The two exchanged looks, before Fay started, "I have a Master's in mechanics. A ship as big as the _Great Fox_ would benefit from more than one engineer on-board. Plus, I know my way around an Arwing.

When she was done, Miyu gave her own reasons, "Martial arts and firearms. I too know my way around the controls of an Arwing."

Fox took their reasoning into account, "Those are some pretty strong qualities that we could certainly use in the crew. But, how about your motives? Why do you want to join the Star Fox team?"

Fay turned to Miyu, then answered, "Because I want to prove that being the rich-girl doesn't mean I don't know how to fight, I want to show that I am just as capable of defending the Lylat System as any other person. But, moreover, I want to protect the people I care about."

Miyu hesitated about answering. Her motives were clear, but the memories of the attack were still a bit too fresh in her mind. Back in the Cornerian SDF, when she and Fay watched as Cornelius City was destroyed in Andross' attack, and she learned that her mother was among the casualties. Fox commented on Fay's motive, "You have something to prove, and you have something to fight for. How about you, Miyu?"

She finally looked up at Fox, "...Because I want to protect the people I have left."

A tense silence fell upon the room, until Peppy cleared his throat, "Well, Miyu, Fay, thank you for coming in. If you two would be so kind as to wait outside, Fox and I will discuss a few things real quick."

* * *

After Miyu and Fay left the room, Peppy turned to Fox and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Fox rubbed his chin for a minute, deep in thought, "They both have military histories. Both apparently served during the Lylat Wars, and it's clear that both of them have pretty straightforward reasons for joining Star Fox." He turned to Peppy, "Having another engineer in the _Great Fox_ would help immensely with repairs and general upkeep, and it would give Slippy a bit more freedom to have one of us train him more with Arwing controls. An extra pilot would also free us up a bit more with things like training, and, it she's as skilled in hand-to-hand as she says she is, that could give us an invaluable resource for training in that field of combat."

Peppy rubbed his chin, staring at the closed door, "I dunno. You give a few good reasons, but keep in mind that this could also lead to more money being put towards unnecessary expenditures."

Fox raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Such as?"

Peppy pursed his lips, "I'm not entirely sure yet. But, I want to get to know them better. Something about that Miyu character makes me think that there's more to her than just 'Wanting to protect others.'"

Fox was genuinely curious now, "You think that…?"

Peppy nodded, "She may be looking for something, or someone. Possibly either someone she lost or someone who wronged her. I want to be sure she's not just using Star Fox as the sword of her own personal agenda."

Fox frowned, "Peppy, have you considered that maybe you're overthinking this a bit?" At Peppy's gawk, he added, "...If it makes you feel better, we can hold off bringing them onto the team until after we have some kind of trial or something like that. That way, we can get an idea of just how effective they are on the battlefield as well as who we are bringing onto the team before we actually do."

Peppy nodded, "Maybe I am overthinking it a bit, but then again, James didn't suspect Pigma either. I just don't want a repeat of that, Fox. A trial period or mission seems like a good starting place for the time being."

Fox frowned, "I'd rather not think about that, right now." He lightened up, "Well, let's bring them back in, then."

When Miyu and Fay returned to the interview room and took their seats, Fox addressed them, "So, we've been discussing it, and we think it best to bring you two on for a trial-period before we actually consider bringing you onto the team. This means that you will get to use our facilities and will be paid a percentage of what we earn from our contracts. However, we aren't actually hiring you yet until we see how you perform in the field, meaning that you aren't technically listed as part of the Star Fox team, so you won't get all of the benefits right away, so think of this as a probationary period."

Fay smiled, "Thank you so much for considering us, Mr. McCloud." She glanced at Miyu, who simply smiled and nodded.

Fox nodded, "I hope you two can find use of your talents with the Star Fox team. I'll contact Falco so he can give you a tour of the _Great Fox_."

* * *

While waiting for Falco to arrive, Miyu glanced in Fay's direction and commented, "Fay, do you think this is a good idea?"

Fay nodded, "I think we've made the right decision. I mean, not a lot of mercenary teams are really out looking for new members, and I'm not really looking to spend more time in the SDF, even if they were pretty good to us."

Miyu understood what she meant, referring to the generous college payment plan they had offered, even though she and Fay had turned it down, having already been to college prior to serving their time in the SDF. They still offered the duo a pretty big paycheck for their service, and both were finally convinced to take advantage of the money at least for their own benefit.

They heard footsteps, followed by a familiar voice addressing them, "It's been a while since I've seen you two around these parts, huh?" Falco crossed his arms, smiling, "How have you young ladies been since we last talked?"

Fay smiled, "It's been an interesting past couple years, that's for sure."

Falco's grin held a mischievous undertone as he spoke, "And how's Miyu been treatin' ya, Fay?"

Miyu and Fay glanced at each other in confusion, before Miyu asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Falco grinned, "Takes one ta know one, sister. I could tell just by lookin' at you two that you were definitely more than just friends."

Fay gave him a half-smile in return, "And I suppose that means you and Katthrin are seeing each other as well, right?"

Falco chuckled, "And time certainly has been kind to yer wit, hasn't it? Yeah, we are… Well, kinda. She's got her own team o' mercs that she's workin' with." He smiled at the duo, "Well, I'm supposed ta give the two of you a tour of this ship, so, how 'bout we get that taken care of and continue our trip down memory lane later?"

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 6** : Objective Disagreement

* * *

As her Arwing powered down, Miyu took off her headset and set it on the dashboard, leaning back in her seat and frowning. After a few moments, she glanced toward Fay as the canine hopped out of her Arwing. Fay paused after leaving her Arwing, taking a moment to press her hand to the hull of the starfighter, before glancing at Miyu. On some level, she knew that Fay was thinking the same thing she was. A knock on her window distracted her and she turned to see Slippy give her a nervous wave. She sighed and opened the canopy so she could leave. Her own Arwing had sustained a bit of a beating during their mission and she understood that he'd need to take a look at it eventually. Getting out of the Arwing, she joined Fay as they left the hangar and made their way to their quarters.

Back in their quarters, Miyu sat down on the small mattress that was essentially her entire bed, staring down at the floor while holding her hands together. Fay slipped out of her pilot vest and stuffed it on the shelf above her own bed before turning to Miyu, "So… What are we going to do now?"

Miyu looked up at Fay, "I'm going to go talk to Fox, maybe give him a piece of my mind while I'm at it."

Fay frowned, "Miyu, what if he kicks us off the team? Phoenix Interstellar only agreed to fund the team because Fara was on it. Now, we have no guarantee that they'll even answer us if we call them."

Miyu looked up at Fay, "I'm working on it, Fay. If we have to leave for any reason, we're not just going to be flailing wildly in the dark." She sighed, before looking up, "We still have our military pay, right? What we put into that savings account? We can use that."

Fay sighed, "You and I both know that without reputation, we can't hope to compete with Star Fox if we left, even with the money to start our own team."

Miyu realized what she had meant and frowned, "…You're right." She looked back up at Fay, "But, we can't just let it slide, Fay. We need to acknowledge it. You're better with talking to corporate than I am, I think you can convince them to finance us. Besides, Star Fox has military backing as well as funding from other private agencies, it's not like they'll suffer too much."

Fay frowned, "I'm not sure how well that'll work… but I'll give it a try, if you're serious about leaving the team."

Miyu gave Fay a half-smile, "Only if we get kicked off or I can't convince Fox to let us look." With that, she stood up and walked out of the room, her mind set. She was going to speak with Fox about their last mission and one way or another, she was going to make her voice heard.

* * *

Fox pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought about their last mission. He shouldn't have let her fly, he should've realized that her inexperience would be a problem. He felt tears welling up and forced them down. They had completed their mission, that was what mattered. He looked up and stared out the canopy of the Great Fox, before hearing footsteps behind him. He didn't have to look behind him to know who's footsteps they were as Miyu spoke up, "Fox… We need to talk."

Fox glanced behind him, "What is there to talk about?"

Miyu gestured out the window, at the desert planet they were in orbit around, "At least let Fay and I go down and see if we can find her. There's a chance that Fara might still be alive! Or, at the very least, let us go down there and confirm that she died in the crash!"

Fox shook his head, "We have a mission to complete, Miyu. I want to go down and search for her myself, but we need all hands on deck while we still have a lead on Andross's location. If we stop him now, we can keep him from threatening any more worlds and killing more innocent people."

Miyu had a hard time believing what she was hearing, "So, you're just gonna assume the worst and leave her to possibly die out in the desert? Fox, let us go down there and investigate! You've got plenty of able-bodied fliers still, it's not like Andross is going anywhere in his current state."

Fox shook his head, "I can't let you do that, Miyu. We need you and Fay here, working on repairs and getting the _Great Fox_ back in flying shape."

Miyu growled, "So… that's how it's gonna be then? Very well, Fox. But, once Andross's head rolls off his shoulders, we are no longer members of the Star Fox team."

Fox nodded, "Do what you wish. I'll have Peppy arrange for your payment to go through after we finish the mission."

* * *

Back in their quarters, Miyu broke the news to Fay. Fay seemed pensive, "I guess we kinda expected this would happen, huh? I just got done talking with Mr. Phoenix. He's agreed to provide financial backing for us once we leave. Although, he seems to think we're splitting off into our own team, calling it 'Star Lynx.'"

Miyu paused, mulling the name over in her head, "Hmm… 'Star Lynx,' I like it. But, we're going to finish off Andross before we leave. I want to get revenge before you and I leave the team."

 _The End…_?

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


End file.
